The Train.
Umbrella's Train
Bear County, New Mexico
Tuesday, June 27, 2001
0100 hrs.
"Okay?" Vanessa asked Amanda, and she nodded. Both of them turned to Andrew, their faces expressing what he felt, disgust, anger, tiredness, and hope.
For a few seconds, they all just sat on the floor, staring at one another. Andrew barely dared to hope that it was over, besides that creature was still out there, the Raven. He saw his feelings mirrored in front of him, in Ryan's worried brow and Josh's tired dark eyes, and when they heard the distant wail of metal coming from somewhere at the front of the train, he didn't see any surprise. A rending, tearing screech, followed by a heavy, but not as loud THUMP, and then nothing.
"Think it's one of those creatures?" Amanda whispered, the word almost lost in the gently clattering sound of the speeding train.
"I doubt it," Brad said softly, and for the first time, Andrew noticed that Brad's right arm was bleeding.
"How about me, Josh, and Ryan go take a look?" Andrew said, keeping his voice mild and even, no point in scaring Amanda and Vanessa any worse. He stood up, and followed Ryan and Josh out of the room.
After a few seconds, of looking in the second car, Andrew knew that it was clear. The same wide-open space that he had entered the train by, all dusty steel and not mush else. Whoever had designed the escape vehicle had obviously figured the Umbrella employees would have to be packed in.
There was nothing to see, but he moved slowly nonetheless, carefully scanning the shadowy corners and keeping an eye on Ryan.
They reached the front of the dim and rocking train car and peered through the door, pushing all other thoughts aside as he tried to make out anything at all in the last car. Darkness, and nothing else.
He took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the loud, whipping breeze of the outside, holding on to the rail. The rattle of the train drowned out the thumping of his heart as he moved to the last car, following Josh and Andrew into the darkness.
Immediately, Ryan raised the rifle, all of his senses telling him to run as the door slid shut behind him. He reached back, slapping for a light switch. Darkness, but there was a powerful smell like rotten fruit and chlorine, and there was the soft sound of movement.
A single bulb flickered on in the middle of the car as he found a button, and he thought for just a second that he'd lost his mind.
A thing. A creature that looked almost the size of a human, it's wide jaw opening, and a dozen cockroaches fell out. Ryan caught a glimpse of thick spines around its mutant, compacted back. Its entire strapping body was covered with a pebbled, amphibious skin, shaded a dark red. It bent over so that its impossibly long arms almost touched the floor, both it's hands and feet tipped with thick, vicious claws. Tiny, cat-like eyes peered out at him from a flat reptilian skull.
Josh fired, three shots that smacked into the creature's chest and sent it reeling backwards, but before Josh had a chance to reloaded his magnum, the creature jumped into the air, slashing him in the arm, ripping it from it's hinges. Ryan knew that Josh wasn't going to go on with them. He saw Andrew firing at the creature, but it wouldn't move. Ryan started to fire at it, but still it wouldn't move.
The creature pushed Josh to the floor and jumped on ripping his limbs and all, and then Ryan saw that his rifle was out of ammo. He took out the Stampede SAA Revolver and the Colt Anaconda and started firing at the creature, and then… THUMP… the creature fell beside Josh.
And both Ryan and Andrew could see that Josh was dead. It was going to be hard telling the rest of them, but it had to be done.
"Hey. Wait a minute." Ryan whispered at Andrew.
"What?"
"What was that?"
"It was a 215."
"A 215… and what the hell is that?"
"Its codename is Regin."
"Ok…" and Ryan felt the train slowly stopping…
Umbrella's Train
Bear County, New Mexico
Tuesday, June 27, 2001
0100 hrs.
"Okay?" Vanessa asked Amanda, and she nodded. Both of them turned to Andrew, their faces expressing what he felt, disgust, anger, tiredness, and hope.
For a few seconds, they all just sat on the floor, staring at one another. Andrew barely dared to hope that it was over, besides that creature was still out there, the Raven. He saw his feelings mirrored in front of him, in Ryan's worried brow and Josh's tired dark eyes, and when they heard the distant wail of metal coming from somewhere at the front of the train, he didn't see any surprise. A rending, tearing screech, followed by a heavy, but not as loud THUMP, and then nothing.
"Think it's one of those creatures?" Amanda whispered, the word almost lost in the gently clattering sound of the speeding train.
"I doubt it," Brad said softly, and for the first time, Andrew noticed that Brad's right arm was bleeding.
"How about me, Josh, and Ryan go take a look?" Andrew said, keeping his voice mild and even, no point in scaring Amanda and Vanessa any worse. He stood up, and followed Ryan and Josh out of the room.
After a few seconds, of looking in the second car, Andrew knew that it was clear. The same wide-open space that he had entered the train by, all dusty steel and not mush else. Whoever had designed the escape vehicle had obviously figured the Umbrella employees would have to be packed in.
There was nothing to see, but he moved slowly nonetheless, carefully scanning the shadowy corners and keeping an eye on Ryan.
They reached the front of the dim and rocking train car and peered through the door, pushing all other thoughts aside as he tried to make out anything at all in the last car. Darkness, and nothing else.
He took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the loud, whipping breeze of the outside, holding on to the rail. The rattle of the train drowned out the thumping of his heart as he moved to the last car, following Josh and Andrew into the darkness.
Immediately, Ryan raised the rifle, all of his senses telling him to run as the door slid shut behind him. He reached back, slapping for a light switch. Darkness, but there was a powerful smell like rotten fruit and chlorine, and there was the soft sound of movement.
A single bulb flickered on in the middle of the car as he found a button, and he thought for just a second that he'd lost his mind.
A thing. A creature that looked almost the size of a human, it's wide jaw opening, and a dozen cockroaches fell out. Ryan caught a glimpse of thick spines around its mutant, compacted back. Its entire strapping body was covered with a pebbled, amphibious skin, shaded a dark red. It bent over so that its impossibly long arms almost touched the floor, both it's hands and feet tipped with thick, vicious claws. Tiny, cat-like eyes peered out at him from a flat reptilian skull.
Josh fired, three shots that smacked into the creature's chest and sent it reeling backwards, but before Josh had a chance to reloaded his magnum, the creature jumped into the air, slashing him in the arm, ripping it from it's hinges. Ryan knew that Josh wasn't going to go on with them. He saw Andrew firing at the creature, but it wouldn't move. Ryan started to fire at it, but still it wouldn't move.
The creature pushed Josh to the floor and jumped on ripping his limbs and all, and then Ryan saw that his rifle was out of ammo. He took out the Stampede SAA Revolver and the Colt Anaconda and started firing at the creature, and then… THUMP… the creature fell beside Josh.
And both Ryan and Andrew could see that Josh was dead. It was going to be hard telling the rest of them, but it had to be done.
"Hey. Wait a minute." Ryan whispered at Andrew.
"What?"
"What was that?"
"It was a 215."
"A 215… and what the hell is that?"
"Its codename is Regin."
"Ok…" and Ryan felt the train slowly stopping…